North Texas has become one of the country's most exciting restaurant regions, where chefs from around the world are bringing new ideas to a dining scene that's both adventurous and deeply supportive of local collaboration.
One restaurant embracing that spirit is Meridian at The Village, where Chef Eduardo Osorio is putting his own stamp on an already celebrated destination.
NTX Now's Ron Corning and Miranda Suarez spoke with Osorio about what he plans to cook up next.
These interview highlights have been edited for length and clarity. To hear the full conversation, click the 'listen' button above.
What is Meridian?
Osorio describes Meridian as a "live-fire focused restaurant."
When guests arrive, they can smell the smoke from cooking meats and herbal aromatics.
"The moment you walk in, you definitely know it's at a live fire restaurant," he said.
Bringing in the metroplex
Meridian is located at The Village Dallas, a resort-style living area that hosts a variety of restaurants, coffee shops, businesses and an outdoor recreation center.
Osorio says while they've seen support from across the metroplex, the neighborhood has really been showing up.
"I think we do check a lot of boxes and definitely a neighborhood restaurant is one of them," he said. "We've been open for about eight months now, almost nine, and we're starting to see more local guests coming in as well."
Special events
Community and cooking together with fellow chefs is important to Osorio, and "Chef Collective" is a way to combine those two ideas.
This is an evening where a chef at one restaurant takes over the kitchen at another, and for Meridian, their kitchen will be taken over by Chef Phillip Halff of Halff Culinaire on August 12.
Osorio said guests can expect seasonal flavors at their best.
"[There will be a] focus on local seasonal ingredients," Osorio said. "That's kind of like the identity of Meridian with Chef Halff as well. He kind of focuses on that. That's what people could expect."
Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning are the hosts of KERA's NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at msuarez@kera.org or Ron at rcorning@kera.org.
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